By STEVEN WASCHKA

SANFORD, FL —

Her work aboard luxury cruise lines has carried her from Iceland and Antarctica to Alaska and Tahiti. Yet despite performing across the world, there is something particularly meaningful about bringing the show back to Central Florida. Divas of Soul is designed as a true live-performance experience. Her career has been built around proving that audiences do not have to travel to a major metropolitan concert hall to experience an exciting, polished live show. She brings that experience directly to communities—and then works to make the people in the room part of it. For all the famous voices celebrated in Divas of Soul, Cece says the deeper purpose of the evening has less to do with imitation and much more to do with connection.

Born and raised in Osteen, Cece grew up with Sanford as part of her backyard. When she takes the Ritz stage, she will not simply be performing for another audience—she will be singing before family, friends and a community that has been part of her story from the beginning. This homecoming will also mark something new. Central Florida audiences may know Cece best through Portrait of Aretha, her tribute to the legendary Aretha Franklin. Now, she is expanding that celebration of soul with Divas of Soul, a new production that reaches across generations of powerhouse female performers.

“It gives you a taste of all the divas, from Patti LaBelle to Chaka Khan to Whitney Houston, Tina Turner—and the list goes on,” Cece said. “It’s just one big old party.” For Cece, however, the music behind that party reaches much further back than any single production.

Music was part of Cece’s world long before it became her profession. Her mother was a singer who performed around the world and spent several years as an opening act for blues icon B.B. King. Her grandfather sang as well, and Cece describes music as simply something that has always been part of her family. She began, as many great soul and gospel singers have, in church. From there, however, her career was built one opportunity at a time. “I did a very grassroots movement,” she said. “I started off doing open mics, and then, once I started investing in myself, created these two productions.” What began on open-mic stages ultimately became an international career. “Now, 65 countries later, this is what I do for a living,” she said. “I provide people joy through the gift that I’ve been given—that’s music.” That journey has taken Cece almost everywhere imaginable. She regularly performs throughout the United States, particularly in community venues with audiences ranging from a few hundred people to around 700—a setting she has intentionally made her specialty. “I pride myself on bringing the big city vibe to small communities,” she said.

Cece's productions can travel with ensembles ranging from six to ten musicians and singers. For the Ritz performance, she anticipates taking the stage backed by a four-piece band and two background vocalists, with the possibility of adding horns as the production develops. The result is intended to capture the scale and excitement associated with some of soul and popular music's greatest performers while preserving the intimacy that comes from experiencing that music inside a historic theater. And perhaps that is precisely where Cece's approach fits the Ritz so naturally.

Ask Cece what she most wants audiences to understand about her work, and the answer quickly moves beyond the songs. “My heart is for the people,” She believes music can do something increasingly valuable: give people common ground. “I believe that music is one of the things that can unify us,” she said. It can also provide relief from whatever may be waiting outside the theater doors. “I also think that music is the thing that can bring us a sort of respite and reprieve,” Cece said. “If for one night I can provide people 90 minutes of joy, then my job is done.” That philosophy may explain why, after traveling to 65 countries and performing for audiences around the world, she remains drawn to community theaters and intimate venues. The goal is not simply to sing at an audience. It is to create an experience with them. “I want people to have a brief escape from anything they may be going through,” she said. For one evening at the Ritz, that escape will come through the music of Aretha, Patti, Chaka, Whitney, Tina and other women whose voices have provided the soundtrack to generations.

For Cathy, the most meaningful moments are often the smallest ones. In her professional life working with children on the autism spectrum, it might be hearing a child say something new or watching them accomplish something they had struggled to do before. “You feel even the tiniest little step and you’re like, ‘Wow, he said that today,’ or ‘He did that today,’” Cathy says. “It’s really awesome.”

Born in Paris, France, Cathy moved to the United States when she was 21. Her first experiences with theater came during her school years in France, where she participated in plays, but her professional life ultimately took another direction: caring for children. For approximately 25 years, Cathy operated a home daycare while raising her own family. When her children grew older, she knew she still wanted to work with young people—but she was ready to take that passion beyond her home. She returned to school and became an early childhood educator. Eventually, she was offered an opportunity to work with children on the autism spectrum, something she has now done for five years. “I feel the change that I’m making in their lives,” she says. It is work that fits naturally with the compassion Cathy says has always been part of her personality.

Her path to the Ritz developed in much the same way: through community, service and a willingness to help. Cathy knew longtime Ritz supporter and board member Dave Scott through her children’s school, where Scott had served as principal. When school groups visited the Ritz for performances, Cathy was often among the parents volunteering to help. Years later, while looking for a meaningful way to stay active, she began volunteering herself. Once she found the Ritz, she found much more than something to fill her time. “I really enjoy everything about it,” Cathy says. “It’s the patrons, the place, the theater, the atmosphere, the people that I volunteer with. I really made good friends over there for the past five years. I just love it.”

Of all the volunteer positions she has filled, Cathy says she especially enjoyed being a greeter. That should come as little surprise. She loves meeting patrons as they walk through the doors, hearing their reactions to the historic theater and helping set the tone for their evening. “I love seeing the people coming in and just enjoying,” she says. Now Cathy hopes to extend that same welcoming spirit to the Ritz’s volunteer family as well. Having spent years volunteering herself, she understands that volunteers sometimes have questions, concerns or simply need someone available to help point them in the right direction. “I’m really looking to help the volunteers because they have a lot of questions,” she says. “I’d be helping them, of course, with concerns and things like that.”

Her goal is simple: support the people who give their time to the theater while continuing to make every patron walking through its doors feel good about being there. Cathy brings with her a life rich in experiences. She speaks three languages, is married, has three children and four grandchildren, and has built a career centered on caring for others. From Paris to Central Florida, from early childhood education to the lobby of the Ritz, people have remained the common thread. And perhaps that is what makes her such a natural fit for the theater.